City Glow by Jeffrey Neblock (Poetry)

(Written in Kansas City, Kansas)

The city glows in the distance,
Burning with the heat of a million
Artificial halogen and neon stars;
They burn away, perpetually,
And illuminate all that might have
Tried to remain hidden in darkness,
But can no longer escape the light—
Things left exposed and bare like wounds,
For the entire world to see.

Even from this distance,
I can hear the angry buzz and hum
Of an endless procession of streetlights
Swelling like a swarm of insects—
A cacophony of static filling the air;
I try to find some darkness in which
To hide, but there is only light here—
There is not a single inch of darkness left,
And nowhere to escape the sound.